Control means



Hm 36, 3945- G. J. HYDE 2,367,280)

CONTROL MEANS Filed NQv. l?, 1941 lNvENToR Patented Jan. 16, 1945 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFlCE CONTROL MEANS George J. Hyde, Brooklyn, N. Y., assignor to Firearms Research Corporation, New York, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application November 17, 1941, Serial No. 419,443 2 claims. (ci. Liz-69) This invention relates to control means and more particularly to a trigger actuated mechanism for controlling the operation of a cooking member, such as the sear of a rearm.

It is an object of the present invention to provide novel means for controlling the operation of a semi-automatic rie for single shot iire.

Another object is to provide novel safety means cooperating with the trigger actuated control mechanism of a rearm for holding the cocking member of said mechanism against release, said means being accessible for ready manual actuation and being positive in operation.

A further object is to provide a novel trigger mechanism adapted for adjustment to either of two positions to control the firing mechanism of an automatic rifle so as to render the latter capable of either single shot or continuous ring.

A still further object is to provide a novel trigger mechanism for controlling the sear of a rie' whereby the sear is automatically returned to operative position after each shot is fired regardless of the position of the trigger.

Still another object is to provide a, novel trigger actuated mechanism for controlling the operation of a detent, such as the sear of` a re-. arm, said mechanism. being light, compact, du-

rablel and reliable and comprising a minimum numberof movable parts.

The above and further objects and novel features of the` invention will more fully appear from the following detailed description when the same is read in connection with the accompanying drawing. It is to be expressly understood, how-- ever, that the drawing is for the purpose of illustration only and is not intended as a deiinition of thel limits of the invention,y reference for this latter purpose being had primarily to the appended claims.

In the drawing, wherein like reference characters refer to like parts throughout the several v1ews,

Fig. 1' is a vertical, longitudinal sectional view, with parts broken away, of a receiver of a rearm, showing a form of. the trigger actuated control mechanism of the present invention operatively associated with the firing mechanism in said receiver, the section being taken substantially along line l--I of. Fig. 2;,

Fig.. 2 is a. top plan view, with parts broken away, of the. above control mechanism mounted on the housing therefor, the latter being removed from. the receiver ofthe firearm;

Fig. 3 is a perspective View of the movable n member of the safety meansof said control mechanism;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged view, with parts broken' slightly reduced scaleof the embodiment shown in- Fig. 6.

The novel control means of the present invention are illustrated, by way of example, as .controlling the operation of the sear of the firing mechanism of a semi-automatic rie, such as shown in my copending application Serial No. 398,034, l'ed June 14, 1941, and entitled Firearm. It is to be understood, however, that the novel trigger actuated control mechanism and the safety means cooperatively associated therewith,v which comprise the' novel means of the present invention, are not limited for utility only withA a firing mechanism of the typeshown, but are adapted for controlling' the operation of the cooking members or detentsy of various other devices.

The ring mechanismisof the type comprising a bolt t0 slidably mounted ina receiver i l for reciprocating movement, said movement being imparted thereto by actuating means (not shown) and being adapted to eiiect thev ejection of the fired cartridge and the injection of a fresh cartridge into ring position. A spring-pressed iiring pin t2. is carried by said bolt and is movable relative thereto; said pin being providedV with a depending shoulder t3 adapted for engagement with an upwardly extending shoulder f4 on a s ear t5 during the forward movement of said bolt whereby said ring pin is cocked. Bolt i0 is fixed in: ring position (Fig. 1) by the engagement of a lever I6, pivotably mounted thereon, with an abutment l1 formed in said receiver'. Sear i5' is pivotally mounted on a pin l8f and is' normally urged upwardly intoA operative engagement with 'ring pin lf2 by su-itable resilient means, such. as a compressed spring' I9 guided in a recess in a housing 2.0, piny I8 being supported by bearing members 2| (Fig, 2) formed with or otherwise rigidly secured to said housing.

In order to operate sear I5 so as to release cocked firing pin I2, novel trigger actuated control means are provided. As shown, said means comprise a trigger lever 22 mounted intermediate the ends thereof for pivotal movement-I relative to housing 20, for example, on a pin 23 supported between suitable bearing members, such as lugs 24 (Fig. 2), formed with or otherwise rigidly secured to said housing. A trigger 25 depends (Fig. 1) from the rear end of said lever, being integrally formed with the latter to extend through a recess 26 in housing 20, and a trigger guard 21 preferably forms a part of said housing to prevent inadvertent actuation of said trigger. Lever 22 is normally held inoperative by resilient means adaptedV to apply a counter-clockwise torque thereto (Figs. 1 and 4), said means preferably comprising a pin 28 slidably mounted in a recess 2Q in said lever and a spring 30 contained in said recess to apply a downward force to said pin. Spring actuated mechanism 23, 30 serves a second function to be more fully described hereafter in connection with the safety means.

To depress the rear or free end of scar I5 when trigger 25 is pulled and release said sear from ring pin I2, a rod 3| is slidably mounted in a bore 32 (Fig. 4) in the forward end of lever 22and is pressed outwardly in the direction of sear I5 by a spring 33 disposed in said bore. A pin 34 (Fig. 5) extends transversely through lever 22 and is in operative engagement with a slot or groove 35 provided in rod 3l (Figs. 4 and 5), said pin and groove cooperating to nx the outermost position of said rod relative to lever 22 while permitting inwardaxial movement of said rod against the pressure of spring 33. An enlarged head portion 35 is formed with or otherwise rigidly secured to the end of rod 3I and is provided with a shoulder 31 adapted to engage and apply a downward force to a shoulder or surface 33 provided at the rear end of scar I5. Pivotal movement of lever 22 in a clockwise direction is thus transmitted to sear i5 by said head portion, producing a counterclockwise rotation of said sear.

To control the ring mechanism of a rifle, particularly of the automatic type, for single shot fire, the sear is automatically returned to operative position after each shot is red regardless of the position of the trigger. To accomplish this result, novel means are provided for disengaging head 3S from scar I5 when the latter has been sufficiently depressed to release ring pin I2. As shown in Figs. 1 to 5, said means comprise a cam member 39 mounted on housing 2o to the side of and adjacent the rear end of sear I5, lever 22 being located relative to sear I5 (Fig. 2) so that head 3S projects beyond one side of said sear for engagement withsaid cam member. Cam surface 39a of said member engages said head and moves the latter axially as lever 22 is pivoted clockwise, the axial movement causing disengagement between said head and sear I 5 when firing pin I2 is released. Thus, sear I5 is returned to operative position by spring I9 as soon as the cartridge is fired, regardless of the position of lever 22 and of trigger 25.

Novel safety means are provided for holding the trigger mechanism inoperative so as to prevent release of the firing mechanism and, as shown, said means comprise a rod or bar d slidably mounted in a longitudinal groove I in housing 2U (Fig. l). The forward end of said bar adjoins cam member 39 and has an upwardly eX- tending lug 42 formed thereon, said lug being located below sear I5 and being movable longitudinally in the same vertical plane as said sear. Rod 49 is resiliently held in groove 4 I by spring-pressed pin 28 and is provided with a pair of recesses 43 and 44, which are adapted to receive said pin, to x said bar in the two alternate positions thereof. In one position of said bar, i. e., when the rear recess 43 engages pin 28 (Fig. l), lug 42 is disposed opposite a recess 45 in the under side of sear i5 and the latter is free to be actuated by lever 22 to release the firing mechanism. In the other position of bar 40, i. e., when recess 44 receives pin 2B, lug 42 is positioned below surface 4B of said sear and is adapted to engage said surface to prevent pivotal movement of said sear, rendering the trigger mechanism inoperative. In order to actuate bar 40, a at depending arm 41 (Fig. 3) is rigidly attached to said bar intermediate the ends thereof, preferably by beingvformed there-- with, and extends through a longitudinal recess 41a which connects with groove 4I. Arm 41 is adapted for ready manual actuation, being located to project on both sides of the forward wall of trigger guard 21.

In operation, when trigger 25 is pulled, clockwise motion is imparted to lever 22 and sear engaging member 3l, 36 is caused to depress sear I5. Cam member 39 engages said sear engaging member during the pivotal movement of said lever and imparts axial movement thereto, whereby saidmember is disengaged from the sear when the latter has been depressed suiiiciently to effect the release of cocked firing pin I2. Trigger 25 is adapted to pivot lever 22 beyond this point of release, assuring the return of said scar to operative position whenever the trigger is pressed suinciently to release the firing mechanism. When trigger 25 is released, lever 22 is pivoted in a counterclockwise direction by spring actuated pin 28, and Sear engaging member 3i, 35 is returned to its normal operative position above scar I5. To render the trigger mechanism inoperative, arm 41 of the safety means is pulled rearward to locate lug 42 beneath surface 46 of sear I5.

Novel alternate means for mounting cam member 39 are provided in order to adapt the abovedescribed trigger mechanism for utility in automatic rifles which are capable of continuous as well as single shot re. As shown in Figs. 6 and 7, said means comprise a plate 48 to which cam member 39 is rigidly secured, said plate being slidably mounted in a groove 43 in housing 20 and held in said groove by suitable means, such as a flat spring 53. A disc 5I is provided in groove 49 and is eccentrically mounted on a shaft 52 carried by housing 2u so as to be in cooperative engagement with the walls of a transverse slot 53 in plate 43. To rotate shaft 52, a resilient lever 54 is mounted thereon to be accessible from the exterior of housing 20, said lever having two positions thereof determined by recesses 55 in said housing which are adapted to receive the enlarged end 56 of said lever. Rotation of the latter from one of said positions to the other causes cam member 39 to be displaced longitudinally relative to housing 2U.

In operation, when the rifle firing mechanism is to be controlled for single shot re, cam member 39 is disposed as shown in full lines in Fig. 6, being located relative to the sear and the sear engaging member in the same manner as in Fig. 1. However, for continuous ring it is desirabe that the sear engaging member remain in continuous engagement with the sear and, accordingly, for this type of ring, cam member 39 is moved longitudinally forward to the position shown in broken lines in Fig. 6. The longitudinal displacement of said cam member to this second position is suiicient to move the latter out of the path of the sear engaging member so that the latter remains in engagement with the sear.

There is thus provided a novel trigger actuated mechanism adapted to control the operation of the sear of an automatic rifle for single shot or repeated firing. The mechanism comprises novel means for electing disengagement between the sear and the sear actuating member to cause the sear to automatically return to operative position after each cartridge is red. There is also provided a novel safety means adapted, when operative, to hold the trigger mechanism inoperable, said means being mounted in a novel manner and comprising a minimum number of parts. The trigger mechanism and safety means are compact, positive in operation, and comprise relatively simple, rugged parts which can be readily fabricated.

Although only two embodiments of the present invention have been illustrated and described, it is to be expressly understood that the same is not limited thereto. Various changes may be made in the design and arrangement of parts, as will now be apparent to those skilled in the art, without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. For a definition of the limits of the invention, reference will be had primarily to the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

l. In an automatic rifle adapted for single shot or repeated ring, a pivoted sear, means resil iently urging said sear into operative position, a pivoted lever, a trigger for operating said lever, the pivotal axes of said sear and said lever being disposed in a single plane substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of the barrel of the riile,

a member carried by said lever and movable bodily relative thereto, said member having an end portion arranged to engage and move said sear to inoperative position when actuated by the movement of said trigger, and cam means disposed adjacent said sear and selectively movable bodily to two positions for controlling the engagement between said sear and said member, said last-named means in one position being arranged in response to movement of said trigger to be engaged by said end portion to disengage said member from said sear when the latter reaches inoperative position and in the other position thereof being arranged to permit continuous engagement between said sear and said member.

2. In an automatic rifle adapted for single shot or continuous firing, a pivoted sear, means resiliently urging said sear into operative position, a pivotal lever, the pivotal axes of said sear and said lever being in a single plane substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of the bore of the rifle, a trigger for imparting pivotal movement to said lever, a member slidably mounted in said lever, said member having an end portion arranged to engage and move said sear'to inoperative position when said lever is pivoted, cam means disposed adjacent said sear and operative to engage said end portion and impart movement to said member relative to said lever in response to movement of the latter to cause said member to become disengaged from said sear when the latter reaches inoperative position, and means for moving said cam means bodily to inoperative position whereby said member and sear are maintained in continuous engagement, said last-named means comprising an eccentrically mounted disc and a transverse slot in said cam means and engaged by said disc.

GEORGE J. HYDE. 

